Homecoming
by Life Element
Summary: Sonic returns home from another dimension, but something comes with him.
1. Chapter 1

_**Pt 1**_

_**Homecoming**_

_**Soon after Merlina's defeat, her dark kingdom collapsed, but the dark storm clouds still lingered in the sky. Paying them no attention, the Knights of the Round Table and the Lady of the Lake quickly ran up the hill to where a castle once stood to praise Sonic for his victory. When they reached the top of the hill, they saw him standing before the rubble, his golden armor shining bright amongst his dark surroundings, lightning striking the ground all around him. Then a strong bolt of lightning struck him in the back, knocking off some of his armor, exposing his golden fur.**_

_**Sonic slowly turned around to face them with an exhausted expression. "Hey…it's over" his eyes began to wonder and he stumbled forward onto his knees "…I don't feel so great though"**_

_**Gawain tried to approach him, but a strange force pushed him away as lightning circled around Sonic. Then with a bright flash of light, the storm subsided and Sonic was gone.**_

_**On Morbius, Rouge and Melony were sitting out in a field resting when Amy and Cream walked over to them with drinks and pastries. It was a relatively hot day and they all wore shorts and shirts with either short or no sleeves.**_

_**Amy sat down and passed out the drinks "Ah, it's such a nice day"**_

_**Rouge sat up and took a sip of the cool ice tea "Yeah, perfect weather for a vacation"**_

_**Melony held her drink tightly as her eyes shifted nervously back and forth to the others "Is it really okay for to do this now?"**_

_**Rouge looked at her casually "Why, because Sonics not here?" Melony looked away and gently nodded.**_

_**Amy flashed a smile at her "Don't worry about him. He'll show up eventually"**_

_**Cream held up a small saucer with a piece of cake on it "Where's Tails?"**_

_**Rouge, having finished her drink, lays back down on the grass "He's out there with Shadow and Knuckles"**_

_**Cream picked up another saucer of cake "Oh, then I better bring some more"**_

_**Amy picked up a third saucer and some drinks "I'll help you" Cream gives off a warm smile of gratitude and walked off, Amy followed close behind.**_

_**After a short walk, the guys came into view. Knuckles wore a sun cap with a large brim to keep the sun off his face and Tails had a small green tinted visor. Shadow wore his usually gear, since more clothing would only make him hotter. Once a little closer, it appeared that they were arguing.**_

_**Knuckles teeth grind in frustration "What are you trying to say Shadow?"**_

_**Shadow looked at him casually "It was a basic statement; I don't know what you're getting so upset about"**_

_**Knuckles balled his hands into tight fists "You just called me weak!"**_

_**Shadow crossed his arms, his expression showing a hint of annoyance "That's a stupid assumption. I didn't even mention…"**_

"_**I could take you in a fight any day!" Knuckles interrupted, holding up his fists**_

_**Tails stepped in between them, trying to stop their pointless argument "Calm down Knuckles, there's no reason to fight"**_

_**Knuckles looked at him with growing tension "He started it"**_

"_**It sounds like Knuckles is causing trouble again" Amy said as she walked within ear shot of them.**_

_**Knuckles crossed his arms while turning to face her "No one asked you"**_

_**Amy stuck her tongue out at him before holding out a piece of cake for him "Anyway, it wouldn't be much of a fight"**_

_**Knuckles took the saucer from her with a slight grin on his face "Yeah, I guess you're right" Shadow quietly grunted before turning away from them.**_

_**Cream walked in front of him and held out a piece of cake for him "Don't worry Shadow. You'll be all better soon" he quietly took it from her and started eating.**_

_**Knuckles began to laugh "Aww, poor Shadow's sick"**_

_**Amy looked at him angrily "There's nothing funny about being sick"**_

_**Tails joined in "That's right. You never know what will happen"**_

_**Knuckles smile began to fade as a frown replaced it "Man, you just ruined my fun"**_

_**Amy turned away and shrugged with a smug look on her face "It's not our fault that you have a poor sense of humor"**_

_**Knuckles looked at her agitated "What was that?!"**_

_**Amy turned towards him, returning his stare "You heard me!" they continued to glare at each other.**_

_**Tails sighed as he attempted to split them up "Wait, what are you so mad…" he's interrupted by the sound of breaking glass.**_

_**The three turn and see Shadow hunched over clenching his stomach with both hands.**_

_**Knuckles calmly watched a little confused by his friend's sudden actions "Hey Shadow, you okay?"**_

_**Amy quickly whipped out her piko hammer and smashed it into the back of his head, sending his face into the ground "HE'S CLEARLY NOT!"**_

_**Tails looked at him in shock "Knuckles! Amy, you didn't have to hit him!"**_

_**Amy swung her hammer onto her shoulder and placed her free hand onto her hip "He deserved it" Tails was about to protest when Shadow began to groan louder and fell to his knees.**_

_**Tails moved to squat opposite of Cream, trying to figure out what was wrong with the hedgehog.**_

"_**What is this intense pain all of a sudden?" Shadow said to himself now sweating and breathing heavily**_

_**Suddenly, the sky darkened and they looked up surprised at the sudden appearance of dark storm clouds, but there was something different about them.**_

"_**Hey!" they look back and saw Rouge and Melony quickly approaching them.**_

_**Rouge stopped next to Knuckles and helped him stand up "What's going on?"**_

_**Knuckles looked up at the sky while rubbing his soar head "No idea"**_

"_**Then why are you hurt?" Rouge asked while staring in confusion at the large bump on his head.**_

"_**Oh this; Amy hit me" Knuckles said with a slight smile.**_

_**Rouge immediately turned to yell at her angrily "What you hit him for?!"**_

_**Amy yelled back defensively "He deserved it!"**_

_**Melony stood back and watched as they began to argue "Do they care about what's going on?"**_

_**Shadow started to groan louder, breaking Melony's train of thought and ending the argument.**_

_**Cream rubs his back gently as she looked at him with worried eyes "What's wrong Shadow?"**_

_**Shadow opened his eyes a crack and looked down at the ground "I…don't know, but…" he's suddenly overtaken by the pain as his fur begins to shine a golden color.**_

_**Tails looked at him shocked "Super mode, now?"**_

_**Knuckles looked at Tails doubtfully "That's not possible. We haven't found all the emeralds yet, right?!" before Tails could answer, the sky started to roar and streaks of dark purple lightning began to swirl around the large thick clouds.**_

_**Cream looked up at the clouds a little frightened "Maybe we should move him indoors now"**_

_**Amy smiled, trying to hide her fear "That's a great idea! Let's get going!" she started walking towards Shadow.**_

"_**Wait. Something's coming out of the cloud" Rouge said as she points upward.**_

_**Amy turned her head to yell at her "Why would we want to wait?!" Rouge continued to quietly stare into the sky. Finally Amy too looked up and saw one of the clouds stretching into a point.**_

_**Melony held her hand up to her face, now trembling a little "What kind of cloud is that?"**_

_**Tails stiffened in fear and confusion "It might not be a cloud at all" now spooked by Tails comment, everyone stared frightfully into the sky.**_

_**The cloud continued to stretch until a small whole ripped and a small blue blur flew out. Everyone looks hard at the blur and then came to a startling conclusion.**_

"_**S-Sonic?!"**_

_**Shadow quickly stood up and flew off towards it despite Melony's protests.**_

_**Amy stared in a daze "Sonic's back…he's back?"**_

"_**What the hell is going on?!" Knuckles said rubbing his head frantically.**_

_**Meanwhile, Shadow quickly approached the falling object and confirmed it to be Sonic with his own eyes. "So he really is back. He just loves to make an entrance" he said to himself. Shadow grabbed Sonic's arm and pulled him close as they began to descend at a slower pace.**_

_**Thunder echoed through the sky "None shall interfere!"**_

"_**Who's there?!" Shadow said as he looked around, but didn't see anybody.**_

_**Lightning flashed all around him "No interference!" Shadow looks around again, but still doesn't see anyone.**_

"_**What's going on? Am I losing my mind? No, the thunder and this lightning…is the cloud alive?" Shadow said to himself as he tried to piece things together. "Who are you?! What do you want?!" Shadow yelled.**_

_**Thunder echoed around them "If you interfere then you will join him!"**_

"_**Interfere with what?!" Shadow yelled, still looking around.**_

_**Suddenly, an extremely loud burst of thunder roars forcing Shadows ears to flip down in pain.**_

"_**SUFFER!" a think bolt of lightning struck Shadow in the back. He almost instantly lost consciousness, reverted back to his normal form and began free fall with Sonic close behind.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Pt 2**_

_**Homecoming**_

_**Bask on the ground, the other stood waiting for Shadow to return with Sonic in hand, but it was taking longer than they expected it would.**_

_**Amy put her hands together, entwining her fingers as she swayed from side to side with a large smile on her face "Ooh! I can't believe he's finally back! I bet he missed me"**_

_**Rouge raised an eyebrow to her "Really?"**_

_**Amy stops swaying and glances over at her smugly "Of course. I am his girlfriend after all"**_

_**Rouge shook her head and shrugged "What you are is delusional"**_

_**Amy's once radiant smile twisted into a sharp frown "What was that?"**_

_**Rouge turned away to hide her smile "Oh nothing" Amy continued to stare at her suspiciously.**_

_**Melony continued to stare up into the dark sky "What's he doing? I can't see him anymore"**_

_**Knuckles closed his eyes and crossed his arms "It's his own fault. Flying off like that when he's clearly not feeling well"**_

_**Amy summoned her piko hammer back from wherever she puts it when not being used and raised it onto her shoulder "Knuckles!"**_

_**Knuckles eyes shot open and he quickly turned to face her with a scared expression on his face "Of course I'm sure he's okay! After all, we are talking about Shadow!" Amy continued to glare at him.**_

_**Tails broke the tension with a quick yell and point of his finger "Look!" the others looked up into the sky and saw that Sonic was still falling from the sky rather quickly.**_

_**Amy's expression changed once again, fear emitting from her eyes, she dropped her hammer and held both hands to her mouth "Oh no, Sonic!"**_

_**Rouge looked around the sky confused "Where the heck is Shadow?!"**_

_**Knuckles started running "That idiot! Let's go Tails"**_

"_**Uh, right" Tails responded before following. After a little running, he began to glide across the ground as his tails propelled him forward.**_

_**Knuckles watched Sonic closely as they ran "Crud! We're not going to make it in time"**_

_**Tails stayed close behind his red companion, looking around confused "I don't get it, where did Shadow goO?!"**_

_**Knuckles startled him when he suddenly grabbed his hand and threw him into the sky "I don't know, but right now we need to catch Sonic"**_

_**Once in the sky, Tails spun his tails so fast that they became a yellow blur and he began to fly off towards his fast descending friend. As he approached, a small shine below Sonic caught his eye. He stared at it carefully and as he moved closer, he saw that it was Shadow's ring band attached to what appeared to be his wrist. Tails couldn't really tell, since the black hedgehog practically blended in with the dark storm clouds around him.**_

"_**Okay" Tails said aloud as he shook off his shock and continued towards them. He took deep breathes as he grabbed Sonics leg and reached for Shadow's "I can do this". He managed to grab Shadow, but the little fox wasn't strong enough to hold both of them and began to fall. "Okay, that wasn't a good idea" he said to himself as he tried to slow down, but he was already passed his limits.**_

"_**Tails, drop him!" Knuckles yelled from bellow.**_

_**Tails sighed in relief and let go of Sonic so he could fly again. He couldn't let go of Shadow since there was no way that Knuckles would see him coming.**_

_**Knuckles took a few more long strides before catching Sonic. "Got you!" he said with a slight grin. He then looked back up into the dark sky at the yellow fox "I got him Tails!"**_

"_**Okay! I'm coming down!" Tails yelled back as he shifted Shadow around so his dark arm rested on Tails shoulders.**_

_**As they descended, an unnaturally thick streak of lightning struck just behind Tail.**_

"_**DEATH!" the thunder sounded.**_

_**Now scared out of his mind, Tails stopped his slow descent and began to fly back to the others as fast as he could. Halfway back the storm subsided.**_

_**Rouge looked up at the disappearing clouds "I have a feeling that this is the end of our vacation"**_

_**Amy waved her hand, her smile growing bigger with every passing second "What are you talking about? This is just the beginning. Now that we're all here, we can really have some fun" with that, she happily skipped towards Knuckles and Tails.**_

_**Rouge placed her hands on her hips and gave her an awkward look as she skipped away before shaking her head and throwing her hands up "I swear, she needs to see a psychiatrist about her bipolar attitude"**_

_**Cream smiled at her comment "Yeah, but then she wouldn't be Amy" Rouge smiled back amused while Melony stood by not quiet getting their humor.**_

_**Later, it was very dark, Sonic couldn't even see his hand an inch in front of his face, but he continued to wonder aimlessly. After what seemed like an eternity, he stopped, crossed his arms and tapped his foot in irritation as he looked around trying to figure out what to do.**_

"_**Where am I anyway?" he thought to himself.**_

"_**Oh look, the big hero doesn't know what to do" an ominous voice said, its words ringing throughout the vast empty space.**_

_**Sonic's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly resumed his original gaze, replacing his annoyed frown with a slight smirk "Okay all knowing voice. Care to tell me where and why I'm here?"**_

"_**The great hero Sonic the Hedgehog, despised by so many. It would be so easy to just kill you, far too easy. No, you are here to suffer" the voice echoed violently, causing the ground beneath Sonic to crumble away.**_

_**Sonic reached out and grabbed the edge of the hole before looking down into the fiery pit. The flames grew larger and wilder with every second and they had a strange purple and black glow to them.**_

"_**Yes, suffer! Fall into darkness and fill me with your cries of pain!" the voice laughed maliciously.**_

_**The edge Sonic was holding crumbled away and he began to fall into the pit. He screamed, reaching out for anything, but there was nothing around to support him. He closed his eyes and continued grasping at the air when his hand snagged something. He held on with all his strength and pulled up, forcing his eyes open. He looked around confused at the room he was in. His eyes stopped when he noticed Rouge, Cream staring at him.**_

"…_**Guys? What…where….why can't I…" Sonic blurted out incoherently. He looked down and saw Amy lying on him, her hand trapped in his vice grip "Amy?".**_

_**He let go and watched as she slowly rose to her feet, rubbing her face.**_

_**Amy continued to rub her face but split her fingers so she could get a good look at him "Ow, I didn't expect tha…"**_

_**Sonic didn't wait for her to finish her sentence and pulled her into a hug "Amy!"**_

_**They stayed like that for a moment, leaving everyone else in the room surprised. Sonic hadn't actually realized what he had done until he felt her arms around his waist.**_

_**Just as quickly as it had happened, Sonic pulled away and nearly fell off the bed in an attempt to get away "Gah, Amy!"**_

_**She was surprised by his quick release, but quickly put on an angry frown as she placed her hands on her hips "What's that supposed to mean?!" Rouge and Cream chuckled while Melody just stood there seeming to have missed the joke again.**_

_**Sonic held his hands in front of him as a makeshift defense "I-I mean, it's great to see you again" he looked over at his chuckling friends and his eyes locked on someone he didn't recognize. "Uh, hi" he waved at Melody and she shyly waved back.**_

_**Amy's mood changed once again "Oh that's right, you haven't met her" in an instant she was behind Melody and gesturing to her as if she was something at an auction "Sonic, this is Melody. She's spending the week with us"**_

_**Sonic's eyes widened in surprise "Melody? The princess?"**_

_**Cream smiled, she strangely enjoyed his shocked expression "That's the one"**_

_**It went silent for a moment before Sonic shook away his surprise and looked back at the girls "Wow, how long have I been gone" he didn't get a response, just an assortment of grins that confused him. "Well, whatever. It's great to see you guys again and it's nice to meet you Melody"**_

"_**Likewise" she mumbled back just barely audible.**_

"_**I'll assume he's awake since it's so noisy in here" Knuckles said as he walked into the room with Tails close behind. He stopped when he saw Sonic sitting up on the bed "Yup"**_

_**Within seconds, Sonic was out of the bed and patting Knuckles on the shoulder with a large grin on his face "Hey buddy, it's been a while! How you been?!"**_

_**Knuckles grinned back "I see you haven't slowed down a bit. Your mouth is still just as fast as your feet" Sonic ignored the insult, he's just happy to see Knuckles after putting up with Gawain.**_

_**Tails moved quickly from behind Knuckles to give Sonic a bear hug, or at least it would've been if he was stronger "Sonic!"**_

_**Sonic patted his younger friend on the top of his head as he waited for him to let go "Nice to see you to Tails"**_

_**After a moment, Tails let go and looked up at Sonic a little angry "Where were you? Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?!"**_

_**Sonic could only smile at his sudden seriousness "Heh, not really" he figured that it had only been a couple of weeks, but his friends were acting as if a year or two might have passed. Sonic doubted this since they didn't seem to be any older than before he left. Maybe a couple of months.**_

_**At that moment, Shadow walked in, but as soon as he saw that Sonic was up, he about faced and started walking away. "Hmph, no wonder it's so loud"**_

_**Sonic quickly zoomed past the others and stopped just in front of Shadow with their faces just inches apart "It's nice to see you two Shads"**_

_**Shadow grunted as he walked passed his blue counterpart "Who said I was happy to see you?"**_

_**Normally, this kind of response would've deterred Sonic from continuing, but not today. His usual grin shone unusually bright today, he had some sort of plan up his sleeve.**_

_**Sonic quickly grabbed Shadow from behind and put him in a head lock as he commenced with a noogie "Oh come on Shads, you know you're happy to see me" he rubbed harder until he could feel the thin layer of skin under his thick center quill.**_

_**Shadow grabbed the arm around his neck but couldn't to pull it away. Once he felt Sonics hand brush against his skin, he reached up grabbed the hand and pulled Sonic over him "Cut that out!" despite his wishes, Sonic landed on his feet.**_

_**Shadow took a few hushed breaths, he still wasn't in any shape to do any fighting. After a moment, he felt confident that he had regained his composure and pointed an accusing finger "You're gone for 3 months and this is how you act on your first day back?"**_

"_**So it's been months" he said to himself, happy to finally know. Despite his knew found knowledge, Sonic started to frown. Shadow was ruining his little scheme, but his remark gave him an idea. He placed his hands on his hips, leaned forward and puffed out his lips "Aw, what's the matter Shads, am I going too fast for you?"**_

_**Shadow's finger dropped and he raised an eyebrow to Sonic's strange posture and remark "What?"**_

_**Sonic continued his little act, holding his hands out in front of him, his lips curved back into his trademark grin "Would poor Shadow like a hug instead"**_

_**The gesture alone infuriated Shadow and as soon as the words came out, he found that he wasn't as composed as he thought. Without warning, he rushed at Sonic and threw a punch.**_

"_**Gotcha" Sonic thought to himself as he effortlessly dodged Shadows brash attack. He then grabbed hold of Shadow's back and used it to repel himself over "You'll have to do better than that!" as soon as his feet touched the ground, he was gone in a blue blur down the hallway.**_

_**Shadow growled, clearly furious as he pursued the blur, making his own streak that went almost unseen "Get back here!" it didn't take long for his skates to kick in and he quickly caught up to Sonic a little sooner than either were ready.**_

_**Because of his sudden burst of speed, Shadow slammed into Sonic and they both busted through the front door and rolled a couple of feet on the front lawn. Sonic quickly slowed himself down enough to stand up and continue his run, but Shadow wasn't planning to let him go. Without bothering to slow down, Shadow pushed himself into the air and came down at Sonic with a homing attack.**_

_**Sonic quickly rolled himself into a little ball and spun counterclockwise to counter Shadow. It worked, Sonic's move had thrown Shadow back into the air. He quickly turned himself, still in a tight ball and launched off the ground towards his target. Shadow managed to unroll himself and saw Sonic coming. He swung his leg back, causing himself to spin around and kicked Sonic to the ground with the back of his heel, the force pushed him in the opposite direction.**_

_**Sonic unrolled involuntarily and stared up at the sky until it decided to stop spinning. He then shook the rest of his dizziness away and stood up , his grin returned when he locked eyes with Shadow a few yards away.**_

"_**Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that Shads" he said as he instinctively took his fighting stance, bouncing on his front foot in anticipation.**_

_**Shadow wasn't finding this to be nearly as amusing as his counterpart, but grinned all the same, also taking his fighting stance "Hmph, just you wait. I'll permanently remove that annoying smirk of yours"**_

_**Sonic's grin only grew "Ooh, I'd like to see you try" he charged and when right in Shadows face, he threw a punch.**_

_**Shadow ducked and countered with an uppercut. Sonic moved his head a little to avoid it before grabbing his arm so he could try anything else. Shadow returned the gesture by grabbing Sonic's still extended arm and just like that, they were in a stands still staring each other down. Just as quick as it had happened, it was over and they continued to fight in close combat.**_

_**Sometime after they had started, the others had walked outside and we're watching from the safety of the front yard.**_

_**Rouge leaned against Tails shoulder with a devilish smile "Ha! Pay up"**_

_**Tails groaned "Fine, I'll go get your money" he walked back inside, somewhat dragging his feet.**_

_**Once he was inside, Knuckles turned to face her "Pay for what?"**_

_**Rouge stood proud, still smiling devilishly "Oh nothing. We just had a little bet to see how long it would take for those two to start fighting. He said a couple of days, I said a couple of minutes.**_

_**Cream took a second to think about it "It was more like a couple of seconds"**_

_**Rouge's smile faded a little, but only a little as she shrugged "Whatever, I still won since I was closer"**_

_**Amy leaned towards her curiously "How much did you bet?"**_

_**Rouge leaned towards her holding up two fingers "2 gran"**_

_**Everyone's eyes widened in amazement "What?!"**_

_**Knuckles laughed aloud "Oh, poor Tails"**_

_**Amy continued to stare in disbelief "I can't believe you got him to agree to that"**_

_**Rouge shrugged once more "What can I say. When you're good, you're good"**_

"_**That would've been perfect to replace the door" Cream said as she looked at the door's remains scattered about the ground.**_

_**Melody turned to her with a reassuring smile "Don't worry, I'll replace it"**_

_**Cream looked at her surprised "Is that really okay"**_

_**Melony's smile grew "Of course, it is my cottage after all"**_

_**Everyone's once happy demeanor immediately shifted to guilty frowns.**_

_**Melony waved her hands "No really, its okay" she turned her attention back to the fight "But is it really okay to let them fight?"**_

_**Knuckles crossed his arms defiantly "Well, I'm not going over there"**_

"_**No point in getting the hot head involved" Rouge mumbled to herself, but Knuckles heard her.**_

"_**What was that?" he said a little annoyed**_

"_**Oh nothing" Rouge replied while turning away.**_

_**Amy smiled reassuringly "Don't worry, their fights never last very long"**_

_**Melony gave her a curious look "Why is that?"**_

_**Amy just shrugged "Something always interrupts them"**_

"_**Yeah and now Shadows sick too" Cream added a little sad.**_

_**Knuckles clenched his fists "If you have something to say, then say it to my face!"**_

_**Rouge returned his angry gesture "Just drop it already!"**_

_**Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the others, Shadow was beginning to enjoy the fight, but there was no way he was going to let Sonic see it. They continued their fight, Shadow punched hard against Sonic's guard and managed push him far enough for an effective homing attack. Sonic also felt comfortable with the distance and commenced with his own homing attack. They clashed several times, neither willing to stop, so it was quite a surprise when they both stopped in mid air at that.**_

"_**Wha…?" Sonic blurted out as he flailed around in the air.**_

_**Shadow was just as surprised, but too out breath to show it.**_

_**They floated up until they were level height with another hedgehog, Silver.**_

"_**I don't think the girls worked out this little trip for you too to fight" Silver said with a joking tone.**_

_**Sonic gave him a casual smile "Hey Silver, what's up?" both Shadow and Silver stared at him surprised.**_

"_**Yes, my name is Silver. Have we met before" he said calmly, but clearly still surprised.**_

_**Sonic mentally kicked himself for not thinking before he spoke. He hadn't actually met his dimensions Silver until just now "I…uh, well no but…"**_

"_**Silver!" the three hedgehogs looked down at the others. At what point had they floated over to them? Oh well, at least it ended the awkward conversation.**_

_**Silver brought them to the ground before releasing them from his telekinesis grip "Hey Amy"**_

_**Amy gave him a genuine bear hug that had him gasping for air "Oh, you have great timing. We were just thinking about how to stop the fight" she looked over his shoulder and gave Sonic a disapproving look, unaware of Silvers darkening blue tint "You shouldn't be up and fighting yet Sonic, and neither should you Shadow. What if something happens?"**_

_**Shadow grunted before looking away, so Sonic answered "Aw, we were just messing around"**_

_**Knuckles looked at him dully "Yeah, you messed up the front door pretty bad"**_

_**Sonic cringed "Oops"**_

_**Amy finally noticed Silvers changing color and let him go, he immediately inhaled and coughed, turning back to his usual color.**_

"_**So…you're Sonic?" Silver said while looking back at him, he looked a little pale, probably from the lack of oxygen. Sonic simply nodded and he turned back around to Amy "So you already told him about me?"**_

"_**Ack!" Sonic thought as he once more gave himself a mental beating.**_

_**Amy shook her head "No"**_

_**Silver looked at her really confused "But he knows my name" everyone looks at Sonic waiting for answer, but all they got was his back as he walked away.**_

"_**Sonic!" Amy yelled a little annoyed that he's just walk away.**_

_**Upon hearing his name, Sonic was back instantly in front of her "Yeah?"**_

_**Amy placed both hands on her hips "What do you mean yeah? How can you just walk away like that? Where are you even going?"**_

_**Sonic met her gaze but kept his blank expression "I was going to look around since I don't know where we are" he looked past her towards Melody "Is there a town or something around here?"**_

_**Melony pointed off "There's a city about 10 to 15 miles that way"**_

_**Sonic's expression returned to its usual happy demeanor "Great, let's go Shadow" he threw his arms around his counterpart's neck without warning.**_

_**Shadow jerked forward at the sudden contact, but Sonic's arms had already folded around his neck "Whoa, what?!"**_

_**Sonic leaned over his shoulder and winked at him "Don't worry, we're not going to race or anything, just a little tour" and with that, they were gone in a flash of blue and black as Sonic dragged him away.**_

_**Amy clenched her fists at her side as she fumed "Oh, why does he have to be so difficult?"**_

"_**He wouldn't be Sonic if he wasn't" Rouge spouted out as she counted the money Tails had just handed her. Without another word, she walked back inside.**_

_**Minutes later, Sonic and Shadow were calmly walking down the city streets. Sonic stared up at the tall buildings and whistled at the height.**_

_**Shadow raised a brow to his action "Why did you drag me along exactly?"**_

_**Sonic glanced back at him with a light grin "What can I say, your better company than Lancelot was"**_

_**Shadow dropped his arms to his sides and stared clueless at him "What? Sonic…"**_

_**Sonic sighed "Yeah, I know. I'll explain later" the smell of food caught his attention "But right now, I'm going to get a chili dog"**_

_**Shadow couldn't help but chuckle at this "Some things just don't change"**_

_**Sonic turned towards him, still grinning "What? Come on Shads, I'll buy you one if you beat me there"**_

_**Shadow "I thought we weren't racing?" but it was too late. Sonic was gone before he could finish his sentence. With a frustrated growl, he pursued. Once Sonic came into view, he sped up, but not by much. Their earlier fight had severely drained him and his illness wasn't giving him a break either. "Sonic, stop!" he yelled hoping Sonic would listen, for once.**_

_**Sonic turned his head to look back at his black counterpart with no intent on stopping "Oh come on Shads! You can run…cough!" he looked forward again, everything began to fuzz. He swayed, but fought desperately as he tried to stop, but his feet weren't listening to him.**_

_**Suddenly, everything went black and Sonic collapsed in the middle of a busy intersection. The speeding truck slammed on its breaks, but wasn't coming to a stop fast enough if at all.**_

_**Shadow, despite his body's protesting, picked up speed trying to reach Sonic in time "SONIC!" that was the last thing that could be heard before skidding tires and crashing cars drowned everything out.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Okay, this took me way too long. I apologize to whoever I kept waiting with this and I hope you like it**_

* * *

_**Pt. 3**_

_**Homecoming**_

_**Amy was worried from the moment Sonic took off and the others joined her when the sun had set and they hadn't seen or heard from their hedgehog friends. It didn't ease their nerves any when Shadow walked in all bloody and bruised carrying an unconscious Sonic in his arms. He walked, better yet staggered past the inquiring eyes of his friends and placed Sonic on the bed he was on earlier before staggering past his friends again and disappearing into the dark living room.**_

_**Several hours earlier, Shadow was racing against time, trying to get to Sonic before the truck and get him to safety. He managed to reach Sonic and dove on top of him, but didn't have the strength to stand back up. He felt the truck's tire hit his side and used all his strength to keep himself off of Sonic as it rolled over him. Once it was off, Shadow scooped Sonic up in one of his arms and tossed him forward just as another tire ran him over and pressed him to the ground.**_

_**He heard a muffled crack and thought it was his ribs or some other bone breaking, but it was actually the sound of a popping tire from contact with his flared quills. The truck swerved away and crashed into head on traffic. Shadow thought this was the perfect chance if any to leave and began to stand up, coughing up some blood in the process.**_

_**Pedestrians fled the area as panicked divers either came to a stop or sped up in shock. A couple of these hit Shadow, one rolling over him and the other sending him flying through the air and landing hard on his back. This time he stayed down as everything dimmed and sounds muffled, but something brought him back to reality followed by searing pain.**_

_**He looked over to Sonic and saw him lying on the sidewalk unharmed. He then forced himself up, picked up Sonic and left before anyone could gather what happened. His friends didn't need to know what happened, it should be enough that they came back alive, but that wasn't going to stop them from trying.**_

_**Knuckles turned on a lamp as he walked into the living room and looked over at Shadow standing in a corner "What happened"**_

_**Shadow leaned his head against the wall and sighed "Don't worry about it"**_

_**Knuckles gritted his teeth as he walked over and forced Shadow to look at him, causing him to groan "Don't give me that! You walk in here covered in blood carrying him…"**_

"_**He's alive, isn't he!" Shadow interrupted, lazily brushing away his hand.**_

_**Knuckles narrowed his eyes and growled "Yeah, but you look ready to drop dead! Now tell me what happened!"**_

_**Shadow glared in response before looking away "He passed out while running"**_

"_**And what about you?" Knuckles inquired while crossing his arms**_

"_**That's not important" Shadow responded with a quick glance before walking away.**_

_**Knuckles growled furiously and pinned Shadow to a wall, causing him to groan louder in stinging pain "Damn it Shadow, stop being stubborn!"**_

"_**Knuckles!" Rouge yelled as she walked over "Leave him alone!"**_

_**Knuckles looked at her, but didn't bother to let go "He won't tell me what happened!"**_

_**Rouge forced his hands away "He's hurt! Can't you do this later?"**_

"_**Why are you taking his side?" Knuckles said angrily while pointing to Shadow.**_

"_**Why are you being so thickheaded?" Rouge retorted.**_

"_**Thickheaded!" Knuckles repeated before sticking his face in hers "I'm just trying to get some answers!"**_

_**Rouge "Well you don't have to do it right now!"**_

_**They continued yelling at each other and Shadow stood there a watched slightly amazed at how quick they changed subjects. He felt a little dizzy, probably from the blood loss, so he ignored it. He leaned against the wall and continued watching the argument until the dizziness picked and made the room tilt and spin. He tried to steady himself, but it only made things worse.**_

_**He reached out and grabbed Knuckles shoulder, ending the argument and gaining the angry echidna's attention. He didn't seem as red as he usually was. For some reason, he was a grayish color, everything was. Shadow opened his mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out and then everything went black and he passed out.**_

_**Knuckles' expression quickly changed to concern as he caught Shadow "What just happened?"**_

_**Rouge ignored him and hurried back to the others "Quick! Get him to a bed" Knuckles swung Shadow onto his shoulder and followed the bat.**_

_**A few moments later, Shadow was resting in a bed next to Sonic, sweating and breathing heavily. Tails worked busily tending to Shadows injuries while a concerned bat paced behind him, Amy sat in a chair next to Sonic grasping his hand tightly in concern. Melony and Cream were returning with freshly cooked food for their worried friends.**_

_**Cream lowered her head as they continued down the dark hallway, which only helped make the situation more depressing. "I hope they'll be okay" she whimpered aloud.**_

_**Melony frowned at her comment, but quickly shook it off to cheer her up "Don't worry. From what you've told me, Sonic's been through worse and Shadow's strong, they'll get through this"**_

_**Cream smiled at her "You're right, this is nothing" she faced forward and skipped happily down the hallway.**_

_**Melony followed at her same pace when a green glow coming from underneath a door caught her attention. She stopped and stared at the light curiously before a voice brought her back to her senses.**_

"_**Melony?" Cream called from down the hall worriedly.**_

_**Melony smiled up at her reassuringly "I'll be right there, I just want to check something"**_

_**Cream nodded in understanding before continuing down the hall. Melony's smile faded to a curious frown as she used her free hand to open the door and look in. It appeared to be Shadow's room and nothing seemed out of place. It was well kept, nothing laying about on the floor like she had seen in other rooms and his green emerald rested on a red colored clothe on a night stand near the bed…glowing.**_

_**Her curiosity peeked as she approached the gem. She placed the food she was carrying down on the bed so she could pick up the gem and thoroughly examine it. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary other than its glow, so she dismissed the thought. As she went to place it down, she felt a slight tug as if something was trying to take it from her. This indirectly caused her to grasp it tighter as the emerald began to shake in her hand trying to get free.**_

_**She watched as the gem struggled in her grasp with wide eyes "What's going on?"**_

_**Her thoughts were interrupted by a scream, from a familiar voice.**_

_**Sonic screamed in agony as he tossed and turned violently in his sleep. Amy fell back out of her chair in surprise from his sudden moment and didn't immediately recover due to hitting her head on the floor.**_

_**Tails walked up to his friend and attempted to shake him awake "Sonic, wake up. It's just a dream" that having no affect, he grabbed his hands in an attempt to stop their violently sporadic flailing "Sonic! Wake up!" his attempts were in vain and he was thrown away when Sonic suddenly sat up clutching his stomach.**_

_**Rouge stood up from her recently claimed seat next to Shadow. Keeping her hand in his, she stared at the wailing hedgehog and then to the fox "Tails, what's wrong with him?"**_

_**Tails sat up on the floor and stared dumbfounded "I…I have no idea"**_

_**Knuckles rushed into the room, nearly breaking the door down as he entered "What happened?! Who's screaming?!"**_

_**Tails glanced up at him trying to think of a proper answer when more screaming caught his attention. He faced forward and saw Rouge struggling to free her hand from Shadow's vice grip.**_

"_**Shadow! Let go!" Rouge pleaded as she yanked and pulled at his fingers.**_

_**Shadow gritted his teeth in discomfort and then suddenly arched his back and gripped harder at her hand, resulting in another scream. Knuckles immediately rushed over to assist her, managing to free her hand and leave Shadow in a similar state to Sonic.**_

_**Amy came to and sat up on the floor, moaning in pain "Ugh, what happened?"**_

_**Her question is met with a combination of screams by the two other hedgehogs. The room started to brighten and slowly, colorful gems appeared and floated around them.**_

_**Melony rushed down the hall, still clutching the emerald in her hand when the light it was emitting suddenly died. She stopped and looked down at it. The light returned, only dimmer, but quickly grew to an unbearable white light that consumed the hallway.**_

_**This went unnoticed by the others as their attention was focused on the sudden appearance of the other emeralds.**_

_**Knuckles looked around at the colorful gems in disbelief "The…chaos emeralds…..here, now!" he glanced down at Tails, hands clenched in tight fists "Tails! What's going on!"**_

_**Tails stood next to him staring in fear and confusion "…Nothing good"**_

_**The emeralds suddenly died down , but quickly lit back up brighter than ever, consuming the room with a white blinding light and a strange eerie noise. This lasted for only a few moments before the room was left dark. The emeralds were gone and so were the two screaming hedgehogs.**_


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back (took me long enough)

Sorry, but I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. It was supposed to be a lot longer, but since I couldn't figure out how to write the next part, I'll just post this

* * *

_**Pt. 4**_

_**Homecoming**_

_**Knuckles took a step forward as he looked around in shock "…Where'd they go?" he said to himself, though everyone else heard.**_

_**No one responded to his question as they visibly searched the room for the obviously missing hedgehogs. Everything was exactly how it had been before, ruffled blankets and Shadow's bandages being the only things to show that they had even been in the room.**_

"…_**This doesn't make any sense" Tails stated as he moved to examine the bloody bandages.**_

_**Knuckles crossed his arms and watched the fox closely "No kidding. What were the emeralds doing here?"**_

_**Amy pulled herself up using the bed before staring at it with worried eyes. "The emeralds appear and disappear with them…..could this be one of Eggman's plots?" she asked herself quietly as she gripped the sheets tightly.**_

_**Tails' ear twitched at her question and he glanced over his shoulder at her "I don't know. It could be a new illness; I'll have to analyze these bandages.**_

"_**If that were the case then the emeralds wouldn't have appeared" Rouge said with a frustrated tone. She then closed her eyes and let out a long sorrowful sigh "So much for a peaceful vacation"**_

_**Amy's ear twitched at her words and she instantly spun around to face the bat "How can you think about a vacation when Sonic's gone?"**_

"_**That's funny, I could have sworn this whole vacation was your idea to begin with and I don't believe Sonic was hear when you came up with it" Rouge mumbled under her breath. She quickly dismissed the thought for the sake of her TWO friends and turned to the echidna "How about you Knuckles? Feel anything off with the Master Emerald?"**_

_**Her question caught him off guard, but he shook it off and closed his eyes in concentration "…No, the Master Emerald is fine…but there's a growing accumulation of chaos energy nearby, and growing bigger by the second" he opened his eyes and despite his best attempt, displayed all his worry through them.**_

"_**And what does that mean?" Amy asked as she looked at him then to the fox and back at him.**_

_**Neither answered her as they thought over the possibilities. They were pulled from their thoughts by a loud bang somewhere nearby. At the same time, the ground shook in one violent pull that knocked them all to the ground and caused the lights to flicker.**_

_**Knuckles was the first to stand, but kept his hand over his face as if it would stop the pain "Ugh, everyone okay?"**_

_**Rouge propped herself off the ground and shook her head "Yeah, just…peachy" she stood followed by Amy, who helped Tails.**_

_**Amy released the fox's arm and looked him in the eyes "Any idea what caused that…"**_

"_**And if we can pretend it never happened?" Rouge added in a bored tone, gaining an ineffective glare from Amy.**_

"_**I'm afraid not" Tails responded as he looked out the window. The others turned to look as well. Outside, a small hill was being illuminated by a bright yellow glow.**_

"_**There's nothing out here. What could've exploded?" Amy asked puzzled.**_

_**Tails glanced at her before turning towards the door "I don't think that was an explosion. Come on"**_

_**Knuckles beat him to the door and opened it, allowing an edgy hedgehog and frantic rabbit to run in.**_

"_**Did you guys feel that? We've got to invest…" Silver began, but was cut off when a red arm wrapped around his neck and began to drag him out the room.**_

"_**We've already come to that decision, now hurry up" Knuckles stated as he began to run, keeping a firm grip on the other.**_

_**Everyone began to follow when Cream stepped in the way, eyes wide and tearing "Wait, please! It's Melony, she's disappeared!"**_

_**Rouge placed a hand on her hip and sighed "Great, another one"**_

"_**That's just what we needed" Amy added while shaking her head.**_

_**Cream stared at them confused until she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Tails. "Don't worry, we'll find her" he stated with a reassuring smile.**_

_**She still felt anxious about it, but nodded. He nodded back and started out the door, followed by Amy and Rouge. She watched them disappear into the dark hallway before falling back onto the bed and realizing that it was empty.**_

Oh big question since I can't 'find' the answer. Is there a time limit to update before they won't allow me to anymore?


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